Leekspin - The Origin of Leeks and Ievan Polkka

Do you remember Hatsune Miku? One vocaloid made famous thanks to the video Ievan Polkka? In this video the character appears spinning a leek, but where did this meme come from? Did you know this happened before Hatsune Miku? In this article, we're going to talk about Leekspin, the true origin of the leek that Miku keeps waving.

Leekspin is also known as Loituma Girl, which consists of a small flash animation or gif of a female anime character spinning an onion. The question that doesn't want to shut up, is this a green onion or a leek? In Japanese when searching for deny (onion) you easily find this viral object from Miku, but leek leek

The Leekspin meme was created from a scene in the anime Bleach where the character Orihime appears spinning a leek. Leekspin is a simple animation without music, but it managed to make a huge impact on the English and Japanese internet around the 2000s.

How did the leek meme come about?

Both the animation and the music Ievan Polkka managed to make a big impact on the online community, especially in Russia. A year before Hatsune Miku appeared with her remix of Ievan Polkka, the animation called Leek Spin appeared on April 23, 2006. In the video below we can see the first version of miku's song:

In May 2006 a website called leekspin came up with this flash animation. It soon gained popularity with anime fans and was shared on various blogs and websites such as LiveJournal, GeoCities and 4chan.

The video and several parodies were uploaded around the month of July. The video was quickly seen by more than 10 million people. Soon fans discovered that the song is of Finnish origin, the cultural song ended up attracting attention from all over the world and received millions of views.

Leekspin - the origin of the leek and of ievan polkka

The start of Miku and Ievan Polkka's success

It was on Japanese youtube, Nico Nico Douga, that the viral expanded even more with the help of the famous Hatsune Miku. In September 2007, a user named Otomania posted a remix of Hatsune Miku swinging a leek while singing the song Ievan Polkka. It was because of that first song that Hatsune Miku became a web sensation.

What do you think of Hatsune Miku and Ievan Polka's success? Did you know about the viral Leekspin? Do you think this is a green onion or a leek? We hope to hear your opinion, we appreciate the comments and shares.

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